Ammunition cartridge gauge



Feb. 12, 1952 WANDRUS 2,585,521

AMMUNITION CARTRIDGE GAUGE Filed Aug. 10, 1948 flE E1 /0 c A /0ax 1 INVENTOR.

// HARRY WANDRUS Patented Feb. 12, i952 ESPATENT OFFICE AMMUNITIONCARTRIDGE GAUGE Harry Wandrus, Milwaukee, Wis. Application August 10, 1948, Serial No. 43,412

3 Claims. (01. 33414) V This invention relates to a gauge for ammunition cartridges, and an object of the invention is to provide-a-gauge for quickly and accurately determining whether a marked cartridge case is of,the size and configuration indicated by it ar in s.

1 Many cartridges of foreign manufacture have for example the same diameter as the .30- -06 military cartridge used by the Army, of the Unitedstates, but not the same length These foreign made cartridges are at present very difficult or even impossible to obtain and resort has been had by gunsmiths and hand loaders of ammunition to use the .30-06 American cartrid e case and by swaging, stretching, cutting, shortening or sizing in dies, shape the brass shell or case of these cartridges into innumerable difierent length cartridges while still bearing the head stamp of the original .30-06 cartridge.

Disastrous confusion therefore exists and dangerous results leading to injury and sometimes death, may inadvertently follow when these altered cartridges are used in a rifle designed for the real .30-06 cartridge.

Because approximately 75% of the users cannot tell a re-formed cartridge from the real cartridge by appearance and due to the potential danger to these users should an altered cartridge be used, the cartridge gauge of this invention has been devised.

The device of this invention is not intended to be a precision gauge but rather a simple, cheap and effective gauge of metal, resins formed by chemical condensation or polymerization commonly known as plastic, or other suitable material, light in weight and of small size so that it may be readily carried by the user and adapted to snugly fit the average dimensions and contour of a real .30-06 cartridge case. In this manner the shooter or hunter while in the field may quickly check his cartridges by slipping them one at a time into the gauge and reject those that do not properly fit the gauge as dangerous to fire in his rifie requiring .30-06 cartridges.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, showing a cartridge in the device,

Figure 2 is a plan view, without the cartridge,

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a sectional elevation taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2, and,

Figure 5 is a plan view similar to Figure 2but showing a cartridge in the device. I

As shown in detail in the various figures, a cartridge case ID, to be gauged, having the usual firing rim la and bullet or projectile Hlb is placed or cradled in the gauge comprisinga longitudinally elongated base I l of suitabl material and length having suitably longitudinally spaced upstanding blocks or standards l2 and M at its opposite ends. The forward-block i2 is formed with, a longitudinal opening l3 extendingthrough the top of and extending longitudinally through the block l2 and contoured to fit, the shoulder and the bullet holding neck l0b at the forward end of the cartridge. The rear block I4 is formed with a longitudinal opening I la extending through its top and through the forward end of the block H! but terminating in spaced relation to the rearward end of the block M, the opening 13 being shaped to exactly fit the firing rim Illa and adjacent portion of the cartridge case. The

bottoms of the openings l3 and Ma are spaced upwardly from the top of the base, so that when the proper cartridge is in place in the gauge and correctly seated, the under side of the case thereof will appear parallel to the top of the base, this spacing l5 also serving as a clearance to enable fully and easily seating of a cartridge in the gauge and facilitating its removal from the While a specific size cartridge has, for example, hereinbefore been mentioned, there is no desire to limit this invention thereto as it may be constructed to gauge cartridges of any size.

It will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made in this invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, as set forth in the appended claims:

What is claimed is:

1. A cartridge gauge comprising a base having laterally projecting blocks spaced at opposite ends of the base, one of said blocks being formed with a longitudinal opening extending through opposite ends of the block and opening through the laterally outward side of the block, the laterally inward side of said opening being contoured to conformably seat the shoulder and the bullet holding neck on the forward end of a cartridge, the other block being formed with a longitudinal opening extending through the end of the block facing said one block and terminating in longitudinally spaced relation to the other end of the block and opening through the laterally outward side thereof, the laterally inward side of the opening in said other block being contoured to conformably seat the firing rim and adjacent rear portion of the case of the cartridge.

2. In a cartridge gauge, a base, first and second longitudinally spaced and aligned blocks projecting laterally from a side of said base, said first block being formed with a first longitudinal opening extending through the opposite ends thereof and through the laterally outward side thereof, said first opening being contoured to conformably seat therein the shoulder and the bullet holding neck on the forward part of a cartridge case, said second block being formed with a second longitudinal opening extending through the end thereof facing said first block and terminating in spaced relation to the opposite end of said second block and extending through the laterally outward side of said sec ond block, said second opening being contoured to conformably seat the rear part of the cartridge case including the rear end thereof and its firing rim.

3. In a cartridge gauge, a base, first and second longitudinally spaced and aligned blocks projecting laterally from a side of said baseQsaid first block being formed with a first longitudinal opening extending through the opposite ends thereof and through the laterally outward side thereof, said first opening being contoured to conformably seat therein the shoulder and the bullet holding neck on the forward part of a cartridge case, said second block being formed with a second longitudinal opening extending through the end thereof facing said first block and terminating in spaced relation to the opposite end of said second block and extending through the laterally outward side of said second block, said second opening being contoured to conformably seat the rear part of the cartridge caseincluding the rear end thereof and its firing rim, the laterally inward sides of said first and second longitudinal openings being parallel to and slightly spaced from the top of the base between the blocks to provide a clearance between the base and the adjacent side of the cartridge case facilitating seating of the cartridge in the openings and removal therefrom after gauging.

HARRY WANDRUS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,250,432 Cleaves Dec. 18, 1917 1,331,190 Flanders Feb. 17, 1920 2,021,770 Farmer Nov. 19, 1935 2,202,683 Baesgen May 28, 1940 2,358,232 Johnson Sept. 12, 1944 2,422,036 Oakley June 10,194! 2,444,136 Leasure June 29, 1948 

